making news in america this morning, breaking new details in the texas church shooting. one of the deadliest in modern u.s. history, the victims as young as 5 years old. >> you can't explain it. your mind doesn't want to grasp it, you know, the shock of it. >> the shooter's criminal history coming into focus raising questions about how he could buy a gun. >> overnight the bystander who hunted down the suspected shooter speaks out. >> said that we had to get him and so that's what i did. >> what happened on that country road where the suspect was found dead? plus, president trump's message overnight to the victims and what he blames for the massacre. also this morning, a u.s. senator attacked in his own yard. rand paul's injuries now more serious than first reported. royal purge. a real-life "game of thrones" in the middle east pushing oil

prices higher. and a tiger pounces on this zookeeper as a horrified crowd looks on. how she escaped. good morning, everyone. i'm kendis. >> and i'm adrienne bankert in for diane. we begin with the texas church massacre, the second major mass shooting in just over a month. >> overnight mourners gathering in sutherland springs to pay tribute to the 26 people shot and killed. families who came to worship had nowhere to hide there. >> the shooter was an air force veteran with a history of violence including a military conviction but somehow got his hands on a gun anyway. abc's danya bacchus begins our coverage. >> reporter: a small texas town now mourning 26 of their neighbors gunned down yesterday in the deadliest church shooting in modern u.s. history. it began shortly after 11:20 sunday morning.

a gunman walked into the first baptist church in sutherland springs, texas, and opened fire on the congregation. >> we have six ambulances en route. >> reporter: the tragedy prompting a massive response from first responders as well as residents of this small town. >> the second we knew what was going on, we just ran over there to help. >> reporter: officials say the suspected gunman, devin kelley, walked into the church with an ar-15 style weapon and started shooting. kelley was in the air force but was convicted in 2012 of child abuse. he served one year before being released in 2013. his bad conduct discharge and conviction should have prevented him from passing the background check required to purchase the gun. the youngest victim, just 5 years old, the oldest, 72. among the dead, the pastor's 14-year-old daughter annabelle renee pomeroy. her parents out of town at the time of the shooting. local resident johnnie langendorff said kelley exchanged gunfire with another

man as he exited the church. >> the gentleman with the rifle came to my truck as the shooter took off, and he briefly -- he briefed me quickly on what had just happened and said that we had to get him, so that's what i did. >> reporter: both men chased the suspect as he left the scene. a short time later kelley crashed his car and was found dead from a gunshot wound. >> at this time we don't know if it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound or if he was shot by our local resident. >> reporter: texas rangers secured the scene, and both the fbi and atf have stepped in to assist local authorities with the investigation. officials say this doesn't appear to be linked to terrorist organizations and investigators are now looking at social media posts as part of their investigation. kendis and adrienne. >> our thanks to danya bacchus there reporting for us. as authorities try to figure out a motive for the shooting, people who knew the suspect are sharing their stories. neighbors say they often heard gunfire at his home late at night. a former classmate calls the

suspect socially inept and says he often talked about his rifles and how he hated religious people. but his criminal record for assaulting his 11-month-old child is raising the most questions. he allegedly bought his gun after he had served time behind bars and was discharged from the air force. former counterterrorism official steve gomez tells us a background check should have flagged him. >> in this case he was convicted. he was serving time in the military, and he was sentenced to the brig for about a year, and so that should have made it into the database, into the ncic system when they did the background check. that should have been flagged. he should not have been allowed to purchase that weapon, so that's a problem. >> that weapon, a ruger rifle used in the church shooting was purchased from a store called academy sports & outdoors in san antonio, a chain with hundreds of locations. and overnight president trump called the church shooting a mental health problem, not a gun problem. and speaking in tokyo, he promised the families of the attack victims that the people of america will never leave their side. abc's karen travers is traveling

with the president in japan where it is the early evening hours right now. karen. >> reporter: good morning, kendis and adrienne. president trump had a jam-packed day here in tokyo, but before he got to his talks on trade and north korea, he weighed in on the tragedy back home trying to offer some comfort to those impacted by the texas church shooting. president trump's first comments today in tokyo, a somber response to the news of another mass shooting. >> this act of evil occurred as the victims and their families were in their place of sacred worship. we cannot put into words the pain and grief we all feel. >> reporter: unlike his immediate reaction to the terror attack in new york last week, there was no talk about policy changes or politics. instead, the president issuing a call for unity. >> in dark times, and these are

dark times, such as these, americans do what they do best, we pull together. >> reporter: the rest of the president's day a mix of pomp and circumstance and diplomacy, a state call with the emperor of japan at the imperial palace. ♪ and a red carpet welcome at another palace where president trump and prime minister abe spent the day in meetings. before they got down to business the two leaders fed some fish in a koy pond, at first sprinkling in a few spoonfuls, president trump eventually giving up and dumping the rest of the box in the water. the president later meeting with families of japanese citizens kidnapped by north korea calling it a tremendous disgrace. >> we will work with prime minister abe on trying to get them back to their loved ones. >> reporter: at a press conference with the japanese prime minister later, president trump called the texas shooter a very deranged individual. but he dodged a question about what changes he would consider to gun laws to prevent another tragedy like this saying it's

too soon to talk policy. kendis, adrienne. >> karen travers for us in tokyo, thank you. a new leak of financial documents is raising questions about president trump's commerce secretary wilbur ross and his business ties with members of vladimir putin's inner circle. at issue is a link between a shipping company that ross once controlled and the company's work for a russian energy firm. a spokesperson said that work came before ross was with the company. the leaked documents known as the paradise papers detail how some of the wealthiest and most famous people in the world stash their money. the papers come from a bermuda law firm specializing in offshore bank accounts. well, time now for a look at your weather for this monday morning. a storm system that ripped through the midwest spawned at least three reported tornadoes including in salina, ohio, where an ef-1 twister reportedly 200 yards wide injured several people after knocking down a power pole.

in brunswick hills, ohio, south of cleveland, powerful storms knocking down a tree straight through this house. look how close it came to a bed there. those storms are giving way to a cold front in chicago with temperatures dropping into the 40s. and coming up, a problem on broadway. why the audiences are behaving so badly these days. also ahead, senator rand paul attacked in his yard. his injuries much worse than first reported. and fireworks raining down on families after a malfunction at a fireworks show. what went wrong.

oil prices are rising this morning after a series of dramatic events in saudi arabia

over the weekend. the heir to the saudi throne, mohammad bin salman, ordered the arrest of 11 of his royal cousins and dozens of powerful military officers and businessmen on corruption allegations as he tightens his grip on power and pushes for more reforms. in the meantime, just hours later another saudi prince was killed in a helicopter crash near the border with yemen where tensions are escalating and a missile fired by rebels in yemen saturday was intercepted near the saudi capital. the saudis say iran was behind it. they're warning the launch could be considered an act of war. new details now about senator rand paul's condition as he recovers from an alleged attack by his neighbor. paul's senior advisers say the senator suffered five rib fractures and bruised lungs after the 59-year-old neighbor, rene boucher, a fellow doctor, tackled him from behind on his own property. boucher is charged with assault. it's unclear what was behind the alleged attack. no word if it was politically motivated. also, one of the most powerful state lawmakers in

kentucky stepping down amid sexual harassment allegations. jeff hoover now admits sending inappropriate texts after a local newspaper reported he secretly settled a case with a staff member. well, ben affleck says the sexual harassment crisis in hollywood is forcing him to take a closer look at his own behavior. he spoke while promoting his new movie "justice league." >> that's opening a lot of people's eyes to this, you know, and, you know, for me that means also looking at my own behavior and addressing that and making sure that i'm part of the solution and that i'm, you know, making positive steps and that we're calling out other guys when we're seeing behavior that's inappropriate. >> well, affleck says the crisis has made it clear that more women need to be in positions of power in hollywood so women feel comfortable coming forward. technology and alcohol proving to be an annoying mix on broadway.

rude audiences becoming more of a problem. one infamous case caught on camera. a man climbed onto the stage to plug his cell phone into an outlet on set. now, that's tacky. actors say ringing phones aren't the only problem. more theaters are selling alcohol during shows to maximize profits leading to more unruly behavior. >> he was on 1%. >> you know, you got to do what you got to do. all right. when we come back, a major new revelation about the presidential race. how hillary clinton's fainting spell could have led to joe biden entering the race. and the horrifying moment a zookeeper is attacked by a tiger. how she escaped. ttacked by a tiger. how she escaped. ack or stroke. non-insulin victoza® lowers a1c, and now reduces cardiovascular risk. victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill. (avo) and for people with type 2 diabetes treating cardiovascular disease, victoza® is now approved

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which may cause kidney problems. ask your doctor about victoza®. virtual reality- all virtually useless without a new computer. all i see is darkness. give intel 8th gen core to power all the latest tech. ladies, we don't need all this to talk about lbl. i mean, who leaks a little when they laugh? for women with light to heavy leaks, poise absorbs two times faster than always discreet. poise makes my life easier. (sound of confetti cannon) seize your poise moment at poise.com. more now on this morning's big story, police say the shooter who killed 26 people and injured 20 others at a texas church was an air force veteran. the 26-year-old was discharged from the air force for bad conduct after he was court-martialed for assaulting

his wife and child. the motive behind the massacre, though, remains unclear this morning. and the heroic actions of two men, just two strangers passing by brought the deadly shooting rampage to an end. >> first up an armed neighbor confronted the gunman and shot at him, but he still managed to escape, so that neighbor then teamed up with another man who happened to be passing by in a truck, and they gave chase together. he described the chase in detail to reporters last night. >> i saw the shooter coming from the cars actually right outside the church that were parked. his vehicle was parked, door open, engine running and him and the neighbor across the street were both coming out about the same time exchanging fire. i saw the gunfire. and from there the shooter got in his truck, we hit about 95 going down 539 trying to catch this guy until he eventually lost control on his own and went off in the ditch. he just hurt so many people and

he just affected so many people's lives. why wouldn't you want to take him down? >> now, the shooter was found dead in that vehicle that you see there. police are not saying if it was a self-inflicted wound or if he was shot by one of those residents. turning now to stunning new details in a tell-all book by the former head of the democratic national committee. >> donna brazile is fueling a fresh firestorm on both sides of the aisle as she reveals the serious doubts she had about hillary clinton and her campaign. abc's lana zak joining us now with the latest on that lana, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, kendis and adrienne. you know, donna brazile paints a picture of a democratic party in such disarray, it was bordering on collapse. and while the new chairman of the dnc tom perez is promising to clean house, these revelations come at a particularly troubling time for democratic voters as they're heading to the polls in critical elections in virginia and new jersey tomorrow. the former head of the dnc, donna brazile, is not apologizing to republicans or

democrats for the explosive new revelations about the 2016 election in her new book. >> anybody from louisiana knows i'm going to put some hot sauce on every page, and if it's not dripping with something that's hot and spicy, it's not me. >> reporter: in her memoir, brazile writes, clinton's anemic campaign had taken on the odor of failure and after clinton fainted at a 9/11 memorial event, brazile considered replacing clinton/kaine with a new ticket, vice president joe biden and new jersey senator cory booker. >> i was under tremendous pressure after secretary clinton fainted to have a quote/unquote plan b. >> reporter: brazile's revelations about a fund-raising deal between the clinton and the cash-strapped democratic party sent shock waves through washington prompting president trump to tweet, the real story on collusion is in donna b.'s new book. crooked hillary bought the dnc and then stole the democratic primary from crazy bernie but brazile disputes that characteristic and the protest of former clinton aides. >> george, for those telling me to shut up, they told hillary that a couple of months ago. you know what i tell them, go to hell.

>> reporter: now, president trump is calling for a federal investigation into that fund-raising deal. but brazile insists that while it certainly looked unethical, she found no evidence of anything actually illegal. kendis, adrienne. >> spilling a whole lot of tea there. lana, thank you. more news now from overseas. terrifying moments in russia as a siberian tiger attacks a zookeeper. this was serious. check this out. the woman is trying to feed the animal. it pounced on her. she was saved by onlookers who managed to distract the beast by shouting, throwing stones. some men even tossed a table and chairs from a cafe nearby. the zookeeper expected to recover, though she was mauled. authorities are trying to figure out why a fireworks show at a british hotel went dangerously wrong. 14 people including young children were injured when organizers say a display box holding the fireworks malfunctioned. at least one of them flew into the crowd there. up next, the video appearing

to show an officer hitting a woman in the head. why she's the one being charged. and a big surprise from tom hanks. how he helped one fan propose to his girlfriend. this this is my body of proof. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can take on psoriatic arthritis with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores.

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police in miami have charged this 30-year-old nurse with felony battery after she slapped one of those police officers carrying her out of a college football game right before he punched her back. you saw it there. witnesses say bridget freitas was screaming obscenities and started getting physically violent. that officer remains on active duty as authorities review this video and his actions. >> whoo, yeah, the video going viral. turning now to pro football, the raiders beat the dolphins, 27-24. >> let's get some other highlights from espn. >> good morning, america. kevin connors, john buccigross. all right.

this is the chiefs and the cowboys. third quarter, third and goal for the chiefs, alex smith finds travis kelce, scores a touchdown, then has an impromptu potato sack race, which he won. chiefs up 17-14, but back come the cowboys late third quarter. elliott scores and the cowboys lead 21-17, and then dak prescott looking for more finds cole beasley. dallas goes on to win, 28-17. let's keep it in the lone star state. jazz and rockets and james harden stole the show. under five seconds to go in the first quarter, harden all the way, three. got it. he didn't miss a shot in the first quarter. 8 for 8, 22 points, closing seconds of the third, again all the way, beats the buzzer. harden had 54 points in three quarters. he didn't play much in the fourth. they didn't need him to. but he got to 56.

one off the rockets' franchise high, rockets win. >> rainy and raw in utica today, kevin. stay warm out there. >> god's country. good morning, america. >> all right, good morning, fellas. actor tom hanks making a big splash in texas. >> yes, hanks was promoting a new book at a festival in austin. he asked a question on behalf of one of the fans there. >> here's ryan's question, and it is for nikki young. nikki, will you marry me? >> in front of the crowd nikki said yes. ront of the crowd nikki said yes. thanks for giving victor the energy to be the rowdiest fan. and joseph, the ability to see monsters. when you choose walgreens, you choose to make a difference... like how every vitamin and flu shot you get at walgreens helps give life-changing vitamins and vaccines... to children in need around the world and here at home. so, really... happy thanks for giving! walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy.

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26 people dead and a community in mourning trying to understand why a gunman opened fire inside a church filled with worshippers. children are among victims. mourners gathered to pay tribute to the 26 people brutally shot and killed during sunday service. >> families had nowhere to escape the rifle. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natasha and reggie. right now first baptist church of sutherland springs is still a crime scene. authorities have not released a motive but we are learning more about the suspected gunman who legally was not supposed to have a gun. a small texas town now mourning 26 of their neighbors gunned down yesterday in the deadliest

church shooting in modern u.s. history. it began shortly after 11:20 sunday morning, a gunman walked into first baptist church in sutherland springs, texas, and opened fire on the congregation. the tragedy prompting a massive response from first responders as well as residents of this small town. >> the second we knew what was going on, we just ran over there to help. >> reporter: officials say the suspected gunman, devin kelley, walked into the church with an ar-15 style weapon and started shooting. kelley was in the air force but was convicted in 2012 of child abuse. he served one year before being released in 2013. his bad conduct discharge and conviction should have prevented him from passing the background check required to purchase the gun. the youngest victim just 5 years old. the oldest, 72. among the dead, the pastor's 14-year-old daughter annabelle renne pomeroy.

>> and the gentleman with the rifle came to my truck as the shooter took off and said that we had to get him and so that's what i did. >> reporter: both men chased the suspect as he left the scene. a short time later kelley crashed his car and was found dead from a gunshot wound. >> at this time we don't know if it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound or if he was shot by our local resident. >> reporter: president trump said mental health, not guns, is to blame for this massacre. he called devin kelley a very deranged individual. reporting live from sutherland springs, abc 7 news. thank you. and here is what we know about accused gunman devin kelley so far. he was stationed at holloman air force base from 2010 until he was discharged in 2014. he was court-martialed for domestic violence against his wife and his child in 2012. kelley was sentenced to 12

months confinement and given a bad conduct discharge. he was licensed as a security guard and worked and lived about 30 miles north of sutherland springs. a facebook profile featured a photo of an ar-15 rifle. our coverage of the mass shooting in texas continues on our abc 7 news app and online. head to our facebook page to leave your prayers for texas. of course we'll follow more on that throughout the morning. right now up to date on traffic and weather. we'll start with sue hall. it's a problem lingering since late last night, sue. >> that's right. since about 9:10 last night this is off highway 37 on the lakeville highway, highway 116. it was a fatal accident, so they still have a sig alert issued. and what happened they were just about to clear this when another car drove through the card closure, and that car got into a secondary accident. no injuries involved in that